University Park, Pa. -- Gifts from Penn State’s alumni and friends took the University to the top of a Chronicle of Higher Education survey of institutional fundraising campaigns in the first quarter of 2010. With a total of $78.6 million in commitments between January and March, Penn State’s results passed those of the other 42 colleges and universities who reported on progress of campaigns with goals of $100 million or more.
“Penn Staters are responding with great enthusiasm and generosity to the objectives of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students,” said Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Rodney P. Kirsch. “The University is exceedingly grateful for this support as thousands of donors have rallied to the campaign’s vision of Penn State as the nation’s most student-centered public research university.”
For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students is focused on raising support for six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University’s tradition of quality. The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State education accessible for students and families. Counting for the campaign began on Jan. 1, 2007, and an official goal of $2 billion by June 2014 was announced in April, making For the Future the largest effort of its kind in Penn State’s history.
The University already is more than halfway toward that goal, with over $1 billion raised to date. Peter G. Tombros, volunteer chair of For the Future, said, “Our place in the Chronicle of Higher Education ranking is very encouraging, but we must ultimately measure our success against our own ambitious goal. Thanks to Penn State’s supporters, we are entering the next phase of the campaign with tremendous momentum, and we are now reaching out to an even wider audience to share our message about the impact of philanthropy on Penn State students.”